When working with prenatal and postpartum clients, one of the big questions that comes up is how to reduce the toxic-load for our little ones. And with that comes the question around non-toxic versus conventional items for baby. Preparing for a baby is so exciting but can also be very overwhelming. With so many products on the market and a million different opinions, making a baby registry can become stressful. When we had our little one, Colter, last year, I heavily researched the items we decided to source for him.

The choices we make for our children are very impactful since babies’ neurological development the first few years can is impacted heavily by the chemical exposure around them. They breathe more air per pound than adults, and they have thinner blood-brain barriers, which allows their developing brains to be exposed to more chemicals. Each time we pick an everyday product that’s safer than another, we are reducing our baby’s overall exposures to toxic chemicals that can undermine their health in the short and long term. We used babylist.com and really liked that you could register at any website or store.

An important note here is that these non-toxic and organic items can be expensive! However, it doesn’t need to be that way and break your budget. I sourced several of these items second-hand and saved $$$$. It made it easier to reduce waste and also reuse.

What to Avoid

Synthetic Flame Retardants: These chemicals can be found in mattresses, car seats, strollers, and even on clothes. Many of these chemicals have been linked to serious health problems such as cancer, reduced fertility, hormonal problems, and developmental issues in children including reduced IQ and behavioral problems. This is the biggest problem for sourcing car seats and mattresses!

Plastics: We have been working to avoid ALL plastics in our home – PVC, phthalates, cadmium, lead, BPA, polypropylene, and more that most plastic toys are made from. Plastic is tough to avoid in our world, so opt for PVC-free and BPA-free at a minimum and consider how the item is going to be used. If it’s going to end up in your child’s mouth, try to source as natural as possible (wood is preferable).

VOC’s (Volatile Organic Compounds): These are compounds that easily turn into vapors and pollute the air we breathe, and lots of VOC’s are present in the products we use in our homes. Examples are the paint on our walls, our furniture, carpeting, rugs, toys, etc.

What to Look For

Organic: Choosing organic isn’t always possible, but it’s something we strive for if we’re able to. This is important for us because, for example, cotton growers often use hazardous pesticides and more chemical pesticides are used for cotton than for any other crop. These pesticides can prevent individual nerve cells from communicating with one another which can, in turn, interfere with every function within your body. We do what we can to decrease our own toxic loads, but definitely want to give our baby a healthy environment with less toxins for them to adapt

Solid Woods: You may not be able to find or afford a product that has all the certifications to make it nontoxic, but if it’s made out of 100% beechwood, for example, that’s significantly better and naturally less toxic.

Natural Fibers: Up to 8,000 chemicals can be used in the production and processing of textiles — for dyeing, treating, printing and finishing. We love fabrics that breathe like cotton and linen.

What Do These Certifications Mean?

Greenguard Gold Certification: This certification means that products have been rigorously tested and scientifically proven to have low levels of chemical emissions (the VOC’s talked about above). This is especially important when sourcing furniture for your nursery.

GOTS Certified Organic Cotton and Wool: “The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) is the worldwide leading textile processing standard for organic fibres, including ecological and social criteria, backed up by independent certification of the entire textile supply chain.” You can read more about this certification here.

Standard 100 by Oeko-Tex: “If a textile article carries the STANDARD 100 label, you can be certain that every component of this article, i.e. every thread, button and other accessories, has been tested for harmful substances and that the article therefore is harmless in human ecological terms.” You can read more about Okeo-Tex here. It’s important to source GOTS certified organic cotton or Standard 100 by Oeko-Tex for baby textiles, like clothing, burp cloths, blankets, etc.

Gear

Car Seats: UppaBaby Mesa (infants), Clek (convertible), Nuna Rava (convertible)

*UppaBaby offers free virtual safety checks for all carseats!

Car Seat Mirror: Skip Hop Baby Car Mirror

Jogging Stoller: BOB Revolution

Everyday Stroller: UppaBaby Vista

Travel Stroller: Uppababy Minu

Umbrella Stroller: UppaBaby G-Lite

Baby Carriers: Solly Baby (when newborn) and ErgoBaby after 2+ months. I’ve recently been loving the co carrier for its simplistic design! It’s completely non-toxic and easy to use for newborns to 35lbs.

Adventure backpack carrier: Osprey Poco plus

Pack-N-Play: Guava Travel Crib – This is the best travel crib and super lightweight

Bouncer: Baby Bjorn Cotton Bouncer

Highchair: Ikea Antilop (best used under 1 year), Stokee Tripp Trapp (this lasts for YEARS – we have loved ours)

Jumpers / Seats: We avoided the use of most seats due to the fact that they do not support baby neurological and motor development. You can read more here. The only jumper that we like was the Merry Muscles – although we avoided use until he was standing assisted.

Diapering

Changing Pad: Naturepedic Changing Pad

Organic Changing pad cover: Burts Bees

Cloth Diapers: Grovia and Nora’s Nursery

Regular Diapers: Coterie and Honest

Wipes: Charlie Banana (cloth) and Honest Dry Organic Wipes

Diaper Cream: Earth Mama, Weleda and Coconut Oil

Diaper Pail: Dekor

Diaper Bag: Parker Baby

Diaper caddy (also great to buy 2 to have a pump caddy too for all pump parts): Parker Baby

Travel Changing Pads: Pehr

Baby Monitors

This is likely the item on registries that I’m most passionate about! Research shows that digital baby monitors placed less than one meter away from a baby’s crib emit almost the same level of radiation as a cell phone tower 150 meters away. Some of the possible side effects of EMF radiation include sleep disruption, impacts on brain development, nervous system disruption, etc. In a perfect world, we wouldn’t use a monitor at all… but I know that isn’t possible when we want to keep an eye on our little ones. The best option is to look for a low EMF monitor that doesn’t connect to WiFi and is low in radio frequencies and transmission. My favorite options would be a radio audio-only monitor or video from Bebcare (use code livewild to save 10%).

Feeding

Bottles: This is super dependent on your little one and the lactation support that you’re recieving. Glass is best to avoid exposure to micro plastics. We used Glass Lansinoh Bottles – per the direction of our IBCLC Boulder Valley Lactation (whom we loved!)

Soap for bottles: dr bronners (unscented)

Milk Storage: 5 or 8 oz. glass mason jars (bought at Target or on Amazon)

Formula: Serenity kids

Burp Cloths: MilkBarn Organic Burp Cloths

Nursing Pillow: Nook Sleep Organic Pillow

Nursing bra: Kindred bravely

Nursing Pads: Kushies and Kindred Bravely

Pumps: Spectra S1 (chargeable), Elvie for on-the-go, Elvie Catch for milk collector

Plates / Utensils: NumNum GooTensils, Ezpz (we love this tiny cup & all EZPZ things)

Cups with silicone straws: Elk and friends

Bibs: Mushie and Burts Bees

Bathtime

Bodywash / Shampoo: Aleavia and UnderLuna

Filter: CrystalQuest (both for shower and bath)

Washcloths: Kyte Baby Bamboo

Toys: It’s important to source mold-free toys – I love these GreenToys

Towels: Burts Bees Organic Towels

Bath Mat: Hevea Bath Mat

Tub: Puj Infant Tub

Moisturizer: Kosmatology Lotion Bar (use code WILDANDWELL for 10% off)

Bedding

Lounger: SnuggleMe Organic

Mattress: Savvy Baby

Crib Mattress Protector: Naturepedic Waterproof

Sheets: Simply Organic Bamboo (use code livewild to save 25%)

Crib: BabyLetto

Nursery & Play

Play Mat: Lovevery

Organic Toy Subscriptions: Lovevery

Night Light: Himalayan Salt Lamp

Rugs: Ruggable (these are washable too!)

Air Purifier: AirDoctor

Humidifier: It’s very important to find a mold free option like Canopy

Gliders / Rocking Chairs: Baby Letto

Toys and Teethers: Try to source organic toys when possible and avoid plastics! Wooden toys have been our favorite. The Natural Baby Co and The Tot are both great for natural toy options.

General

Pacifiers: Natursutten

Brush / Comb: Green Sprouts

Laundry Detergent: Thieves YoungLiving

Nail Trimmers: FridaBaby or Martins

Thermometer: Exergen

Nasal Aspirator: Nose Frida

Probiotic Spray: mary ruths (this is good for cuts and scrapes after 4+ months)

Sleep Sacks / Swaddles: We used 100% cotton swaddle blankets from Oliver and Rain and Little Unicorn. We also briefly used the Ollie, however our little one didn’t love being swaddled. We used the Kyte Baby Sleep Sacks (we liked all temperatures .5-2) and still love those. There’s more info on swaddling here.

Apparel

Oliver and Rain

Burts Bees

Kyte Baby

Finn & Emma

Gap Organic

Patagonia Organic

Postpartum Registry Essentials for Mama

Meal Support: Find local support for postpartum meal prep (this is a service that I offer, if you’re located in the Great Denver, CO area). if you’re not local, reach out as I could likely recommend someone.

Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy: This was a crucial aspect of my personal postpartum recovery. I personally believe EVERYONE can benefit from the support of a pelvic floor PT. If you’re local to Boulder, Amanda Gotschall of Anewu PT is my go-to recommendation!

Lactation Support: Schedule a prenatal appointment with IBCLC to have support ready for postpartum – Kelly Euperio of Boulder Valley Lactation is my top recommendation!

Chiropractic Support: Chiropractic care is essential in postpartum and can be huge in your overall healing. Nichelle Gurule of Live Loud Life is my go-to. I still see her often, even at 11 months postpartum!

Massage Therapy: Massage can also be extremely healing in postpartum and calming for the central nervous system. Faith Davis or any of the massage therapists at Mountain Mama Massage are amazing (if you’re local to Boulder!)

Nutrition / Supplementation Support: The support of a nutritionist is also a huge component to postpartum healing. The use of supplements, food, herbs, etc. all play a large role in balancing your body post-birth. I support mamas frequently in their postpartum journey and have found that it makes a huge difference in their recovery along with how well it nourishes mama and baby! You can connect here for a free 20-minute discovery call to discuss this further.

Doula Support: This isn’t just important in postpartum, but having Doula support throughout pregnancy and birth is HUGE! There’s a reason why having the support of Doula greatly decreases your risk for c-sections and helps advocate for an intervention-free birth. Doulas continue to fulfill the historical role of emotionally supporting a pregnant woman through labor and childbirth, helping her advocate for herself and communicate with her caregivers. I worked with Haley Brodsky of Soul Baby Birthing and would recommend her to EVERYONE!